See United States v. Sutton, 406 F.3d 472, 474 (7th Cir.2005) (citing United States v. Benitez, 92 F.3d 528, 538 (7th Cir.1996)). Cuisine: American Neighborhood: Los Feliz Website: www.shuttersonthebeach.com You must be 16 years old to work "on the line." The wiretaps also provided the FBI with further insight into Hankton and Davis' respective leadership roles in the MCs as well as more specific information on the hierarchal structure of the organization. Knox's textbook, "An Introduction to Gangs," lists several gang constitutions, which are filled with rules, pseudo-religious ramblings and the expected problems with spelling. Days later in another conversation, Hankton asks Davis-who was apparently having problems cooking up some crack-whether he was cooking it on a stove or not, and Davis responds: No. As recounted above, Olden testified that for a period of five months (between June and October of 2000) Hankton personally supplied him with individual distribution amounts of crack cocaine-ranging in quantity from one eighth of an ounce to one ounce-every three to four days. After a nine month undercover narcotics investigation, in January 1998 the Chicago Police Department arrested 31 Spanish Cobras in "Operation: Mongoose", including some gang leaders. Although not dispositive as to his role as a leader in the organization, Hankton is referred to in the record first as don (during the late 1990s) and then as king (beginning in 1999). Hankton's role as King was also supported through Agent Darin's description of physical evidence that was confiscated from Hankton's residence upon a search warrant-such as letters calling Hankton the King, statues of cobras wearing crowns and jewelry of crowns-all referring to Hankton's leadership position in the gang as the King of Kings.. 24. As a result of information provided by Gatlin, Arthur Hurd An FBI-led task force and Chicago police arrested Hankton and 12 of the other suspects Thursday. Finally, over objection from defense counsel, the government introduced the plea agreements of seven of Hankton's co-defendants.19 In the plea agreements, which were signed and approved by each of the co-defendants and received into evidence at sentencing, the co-defendants describe receiving primarily crack cocaine from Hankton. At a press conference that included officials from the FBI, Chicago police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, U.S. Atty. 841(a)(1), and Davis was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, also in violation of 21 U.S.C. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. Because neither Hankton nor Davis raised a Booker issue before the district court our review is for plain error only. As Olden explained, Hankton would supply him with crack-essentially on credit-and then collect the proceeds from the sale of the crack from him at a later time. "He's got the props. In one conversation with a MCs associate, for example, Hankton is asked whether he got that butter?. Both in Prison and in the street gangs in CA. 3B1.1(a).11. The Mickey Cobras are a lairge street gang affiliatit wi the naitionwide gang affiliation kent as the People Nation. This is not to mention the fact that Davis was provided with ample opportunity to rebut the hearsay evidence proffered against him in the form of the co-defendant plea agreements, either by calling his own exculpatory witnesses or through his cross examination of Agent Darin. As part of the plea agreement, Hankton admitted that on three separate occasions in Cook County, Illinois, between February and April 2000, he distributed a total of approximately 156 grams of crack to an individual who, unbeknownst to him, was a confidential informant recruited by the FBI. The fact that Davis called no witnesses at sentencing and failed to successfully discredit Agent Darin on cross-examination, however, evinces nothing more than a shortcoming in the presentation of his case and falls far short of establishing error on the part of the trial judge. . What's more, Hankton's role as leader and organizer is rather persuasively illustrated by the fact that he had the power within the MCs organization to order the brutal beating and murder of one of the gang's members, Annette Williams. 841(a)(1). Even a conservative estimate of the amount of cocaine Hankton supplied Olden with amounts to approximately 4.6875 ounces or 134 grams of crack cocaine (which is equal to Hankton supplying Olden with 1/8 oz. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002). Meaning that, without anything more, evidence of drug transactions referenced in the telephone recordings that Agent Darin testified concerning was sufficient to attribute over 500 grams of crack cocaine to Hankton under the sentencing guidelines. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Mickey Cobras back in 1954 until 1960 were known as the Egyptian Cobras. Based in Chicago an consistin lairgely o African-American memmership, the gang is considered vera mobile, wear the colour reid, an factions o the gang are bein established throughoot the Mid-wastren Unitit States. Agent Darin, a member of the FBI's joint gang task force and a trained drug traffic investigation agent, testified concerning Hankton's coordination of the drug trade for the MCs as well as his role as King or leader of the gang throughout the city in 2000 and 2001. See supra p. 19-20. 4655 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90027 (Map & Directions) Phone: (323) 669-3922. 2D1.1 and 3B1.1 to his sentence constituted improper double counting. While in the gang, he achieved the rank of a 'prince.' He identified defendant in court as someone he had known for 20 years. Thf 44 is also very deep and they also rep cobra heavily. 801, that evidence was corroborated by other evidence submitted at sentencing, and thus could reasonably be considered reliable by the sentencing judge. In a superseding indictment dated May 15, 2002, Clarence Hankton, Greg Davis and six other co-conspirators were charged in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Robert Guthrie, a former gang-crimes investigator who now oversees the department's public housing unit. We disagree. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 3661. See United States v. Puckett, 405 F.3d 589, 597 n. 8 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Edwards, 397 F.3d 570, 574 (7th Cir.2005). For example, the government was unable to obtain conclusive information about Hankton and Hankton's associates without arousing suspicion. Additionally, the use of undercover agents [was determined to] be impractical and dangerous due to the highly suspicious' nature of the alleged offenders.. The indictment also alleged that the defendants participated in various other drug-related crimes arising out of their membership in, and affiliation with, the "Mickey Cobras" ("MCs") street gang, which operated on the north-side of Chicago, Illinois during the 1980s and 1990s. However, unlike Hankton, Davis does not claim that Agent Darin's testimony was unreliable. Also a member of the MCs, Olden recounted that the main source of revenue for the gang was the sale of illegal drugs. 2. For example, the co-defendants' plea agreements state that Hankton sold them primarily crack cocaine-according to the government's calculation, 1156 grams total. As such, the defendant must have exercised some degree of control over others involved in the commission of the offense or he must have been responsible for organizing others for the purpose of carrying out the crime. Id. 14 for the Mickey Cobras is "There will be no more paying brothers and sisters to do your security. The collective name of joined gangs under the five point star banner (V.L.,B.P.S.,L.K., M.C.,4.C.H.,). ", Rule No. What's more, the evidence submitted at sentencing was internally consistent with the totality of the evidence in the record and various aspects of that evidence corroborated other aspects. Section 3B1.1 of the sentencing guidelines is applicable where the defendant was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive. U.S.S.G. Hardamon, 188 F.3d at 849-50 (quoting United States v. Gerstein, 104 F.3d 973, 978 (7th Cir.1997)). Made public recently by police sources, the sheets outline how gang members should behave while peddling drugs in the Robert Taylor Homes. 841(a)(1). Based on his understanding of the inner-workings of the MCs, Charles stated that on April 12, 2004, Williams had been issued a severe beating or violation as the MCs called it, for allegedly stealing approximately $3,000 from the gang. The rationale for this is clear: The sentencing stage of a trial is one of the most important parts of the criminal process. David Kelley. The disparate nature of behavior addressed under each enhancement, without more, suggests that impermissible double counting pursuant to those particular enhancements would be most unlikely. The district court's determination concerning a defendant's role in the offense is a finding of fact, subject to a clearly erroneous standard of review on appeal, United States v. Brown, 900 F.2d 1098, 1101 (7th Cir.1990), and this remains the case post-Booker. Also, the district court did not rely solely on witness testimony concluding that Hankton was responsible for distributing more than 500 grams of crack. See, e.g., United States v. Hardamon, 188 F.3d 843, 849 (7th Cir.1999). However, as stated above, the rules of evidence do not apply during sentencing proceedings and hearsay is not only an acceptable basis for a sentencing determination, United States v. Smith, 3 F.3d at 1100, it is often an integral part of the sentencing process. Badger, 983 F.2d at 1459. Please try again. Like the Cobras in Cabrini (the castle) were King Cobras and Mickey's. Then in the 90s to make it even worse Prince Money ( Mickey's son) flipped GD and allot of cobras went with him. "Prentis Smith testified that he was a former member of the Mickey Cobra street gang. Limit bathroom breaks to 15 minutes. Said differently, Hankton takes issue with the sentencing judge's focus on his leadership conduct which he claims is unrelated to the underlying crime of distribution of a controlled substance. Introduced were the plea agreements of Davis, Woodrow Green, Jammah Olden, Rasuah Brunner, Ngaya Brunner, Timeka Murdock and Mekeba Gates. When the amounts of crack cocaine that the co-defendants admitted Hankton distributed to them were tallied, the government estimated that the amount of crack Hankton distributed (as established in the plea agreement documents alone) to be 1166 grams.